Mentor / Coach / Volunteer

Rutland Area Robotics is fueled by the dedication and countless volunteer hours our mentors, coaches and volunteers dedicate to this program to make it happen. We need your help!

Whether you are a teacher, parent, college student, professional or retired you can participate.

Ways to Help:

• Mentoring - start a team or help an existing one. Our mentors come from a variety of backgrounds and serve in a variety of capacities. In addition to having mentors that can provide STEAM education and guidance, teams need help with communications, making hotel reservations, coaching judging sessions, first aid training, carpentry, cheering & decorations, ordering apparel, photography, videography, sorting LEGO, documentation, feeding the students, organizational planning, outreach, recruiting, fundraising, driving students to events and simply providing adult supervision. There is also a need for help to run summer camps and classes.

• Volunteering - Rutland Area Robotics runs and participates in a number of FIRST events throughout a typical season. To run, these events need volunteers. Event volunteers can serve in a variety of capacities: announcers, field reset, supervisory roles, lighting, A/V, judging, set-up, tear-down, safety, informational, etc. As an active member of the FIRST community Rutland Area Robotics tries to bring volunteers to every event.

Donations & Sponsorships

There is no way around it. Robotics is an expensive sport. Just registering a high school level team for a single season can cost $6,000. That is before acquiring parts, kits, tools, space, apparel and incurring travel expenses. If a team performs well and advances to Regional or World Championships registration expenses alone can balloon to over $16,000. In an effort to make this sport inclusive for all members of our community, regardless of income, we raise funds to cover the majority of costs.

Rutland Area Robotics is a 501c3 non-profit organization.

• Donations - Individuals or small businesses can make donations to help support our programming. This can be in the form of financial support, materials, space or food.

• Sponsorships - The majority of the funds that make our programs possible come through Corporate Sponsorships and Grants.

  We have various sponsorships levels that will get your logo displayed on our robot, apparel or on a banner at the practice field in the MINT Makerspace. Logos are viewed by hundreds of thousands of people throughout a single season at public events, competitions and via broadcast on Twitch and Social Media.

  If you would like to support this program in Rutland County, Vermont, please consider sponsoring Rutland Area Robotics. Every dollar helps keep these programs sustainable.